Slovak PM Fico says he will not honor NATO Article 5 obligations in case of Russian attack
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico publicly declared that he does not intend to fulfill obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and will not have Slovakia participate in defending allies in the event of a Russian attack. Speaking at a hospital in Prešov, Fico said he would do everything as prime minister to keep Slovakia out of any military conflict, while accusing European leaders of "warlike rhetoric" and not once mentioning Russia as the aggressor. The remarks came shortly before a planned visit to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
Key points
- Slovak PM Robert Fico said he will not fulfill Article 5 obligations or have Slovakia defend allies in the event of a Russian attack.
- Fico made the remarks during a speech to students and staff at a hospital in Prešov.
- Fico said as prime minister he will do everything to ensure Slovakia is never drawn into a military conflict through Article 5.
- Fico did not mention Russia as the aggressor or a source of military threat and accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric."
- Fico described the risk of a pan-European military conflict as never having been "as serious and tense as now."
- Fico announced he would visit Kyiv on September 18 to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
- Article 5 treats an armed attack on one NATO member as an attack on all allies, though the specific form of assistance is decided by each member state.
Why it matters
The statement came from the prime minister of a NATO member state publicly refusing in advance to honor the alliance's central collective-defense commitment. It was made against a backdrop of recurring Russian drone incursions and suspected sabotage on NATO territory in the weeks before the speech, and was accompanied by Fico's refusal to name Russia as a threat and by accusations of "warlike rhetoric" against European leaders — a posture Ukrainian media framed as alignment with Moscow.
What happened
On September 17, 2026, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told students and staff at a hospital in Prešov that he has no intention of fulfilling NATO Article 5 obligations and will not have Slovakia take part in defending allies if Russia attacks. He said he could not imagine Slovakia being told to send 5,000 or 10,000 soldiers to fight without knowing with whom, why, or for what, and pledged as prime minister to keep Slovakia out of any military conflict. At the same time he stressed that NATO membership matters to Slovakia and that the country respects its obligations, while describing the risk of a pan-European conflict as never having been "as serious and tense as now." During the speech he did not name Russia as the aggressor or a source of military threat, accusing European leaders instead of "warlike rhetoric." Fico also announced a visit to Kyiv the following day, September 18, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All seven supplied sources are Ukrainian outlets — Українська правда, НВ, LIGA.net, ZN.UA, Укрінформ, Радіо Свобода and hromadske. Their coverage centers on a sitting NATO leader publicly signaling refusal to defend other allies against Russia. Headlines highlight Fico's refusal and his rhetoric dismissing collective defense, and pair the speech with his announced Kyiv trip, his 2023 halt of Slovak military aid to Ukraine, his opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership, and his June 2026 opposition to further support ahead of the Ankara summit. Several articles note that Fico did not once mention Russia as the aggressor and instead accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric," presenting the omission as part of a broader pattern of statements seen as justifying the Russian invasion.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian sources differ on how to characterize Fico's framing: some read his remarks as a flat rejection of NATO obligations, while others emphasize his claim that Slovakia values its NATO membership and will continue to cooperate, treating the statement as a defense of Slovakia's freedom to choose how — or whether — to respond under Article 5. Sources also differ on the transliteration of the Ukrainian prime minister's name, rendering it as Koretsky, Koreckyi or Koretskyi.
Background
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty treats an armed attack on one ally as an attack on all, with the specific form of assistance decided by each member state. Fico returned to the Slovak premiership in autumn 2023, immediately halted Slovak military aid to Ukraine and has since made repeated statements that Ukrainian outlets describe as justifying the Russian invasion. Throughout 2024–2025 he opposed Ukraine's NATO membership and threatened to veto the process, and in June 2026 he publicly opposed further large-scale support to Kyiv ahead of the July NATO summit in Ankara. In the weeks before the speech, multiple Russian-linked incidents were reported on NATO territory: a drone strike on a passenger train at Yahodyn station near the Polish border on September 13, a Russian drone falling near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on September 17, signal rockets fired at a Danish military helicopter from a Russian frigate on September 14, Danish intelligence reporting detected Russian sabotage plans against Danish defense industry, and a Russian drone shot down over Lithuania on September 15. In August, Slovak police said they had prevented an arson at the Skyeton UAV plant in eastern Slovakia and detained three foreign suspects, with the company linking the incident to Russia. Before Fico's return to power, Slovakia had transferred 13 military aid packages worth about €671 million and roughly ten MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine; Fico has pointed to Bratislava's roughly €100 million program for restoring Ukrainian energy infrastructure and called for more active diplomacy to end the war.